Verification Before Completion

Verification Before Completion

Do not claim a task is complete until you have fresh evidence from the command that proves the claim. Memory, prior runs, and "it should work" are not evidence.

When to Use

• Before saying a bug is fixed
• Before reporting that tests pass
• Before marking a PR ready for review
• Before saying "done", "resolved", or "working"
• When an agent sounds confident without showing current output

When NOT to Use

Prerequisites

• You know the exact claim you want to make
• You know the command that would prove or falsify that claim
• You can inspect the full output and exit code

Pre-flight Plan Check

Before starting any task, validate the plan itself — not just after the work is done.

Ask:

• Does any step in the plan conflict with another (e.g., two steps that modify the same file in incompatible ways)?
• Does the plan match the stated objective, or has scope crept in?
• Are there hidden dependencies the plan does not account for?

Run the plan check before the first tool call, not after the work is in progress.

Pre-flight checklist:
[ ] Objective matches the actual request
[ ] No step conflicts with another
[ ] Scope matches what was authorized — no undeclared additions
[ ] Dependencies between steps are accounted for

If a conflict is found at pre-flight, resolve it with the user before proceeding. Fixing a wrong plan mid-execution costs more than catching it upfront.

Workflow

1. Identify the proving command

Ask: "What command would directly prove this claim right now?"

2. Run it now

Never rely on an earlier run when the code or environment may have changed.

Run the exact command that proves the claim.
Do not summarize the result until the command finishes.

3. Read the full result

Check:

• Exit code
• Final status line
• Warnings or partial failures
• Whether the output actually matches the claim

4. Compare output to the claim

Do not over-claim.

4-A. When work is tracked in git

If the claim is about a commit, PR, or patch series, use git evidence to scope the claim correctly — but never treat a diff or commit by itself as proof that the work works.

Check:

• the actual diff matches the change you are claiming
• the proving command output is newer than the last relevant edit or commit
• the changed files and commit message do not imply a broader success than the command proved
• if runtime evidence and git evidence disagree, hold the report until they line up

Git evidence can prove what changed. It cannot prove that the change succeeded without fresh execution or state verification.

5. Only then report completion

Good:

I reran `npm test -- --testPathPattern="auth"` and it passed, so the auth fix is ready.

Bad:

This should be fixed now.

Common Rationalizations

Red Flags

• You are about to say "probably fixed"
• You are summarizing without quoting the command you ran
• You only checked part of the output
• You are reusing output from before the last edit
• You are claiming a broader success than the command proved

Single-Pass Review Model

When a task requires both spec compliance and quality review, combine them into one reviewer pass instead of two separate passes.

Two-pass review problems:

• The first reviewer may flag issues the second reverses
• Running two sequential reviewers doubles context cost for the same artifact
• Separate passes can give conflicting verdicts with no clear tie-breaker

Single-pass review framing:

Review this [artifact] against:
1. Spec compliance — does it do what was asked?
2. Quality — is it correct, maintainable, and free of regressions?

Return a single verdict. Do not approve unless both checks pass.

Definition of Done Check

Before reporting a task complete, apply the DoD (Definition of Done) framing: two questions that must both be answered affirmatively.

Five DoD categories:

Do not substitute "I'm satisfied with the code" for a real DoD check.

Zero-Output Phase Detection (Scope Escape)

A phase that was expected to produce file changes but reports success with zero target-file modifications is a false positive. Treat it as suspicious.

Valid zero-output phases exist (verification passes, read-only audits, linting that finds no issues). This check applies only to phases whose stated purpose was to create or modify files.

Watch for:

• "14/14 steps PASSED" with no files modified — when file changes were expected
• A build or test reports success on a stale artifact
• An agent returns "done" but git diff shows nothing changed

When a file-producing phase produces zero outputs:

1. Do not count it as completed
2. Inspect whether the phase was scoped to the right target
3. Verify the phase was not silently skipped or short-circuited
4. Re-run with explicit output confirmation before proceeding

Scope escape check:
[ ] At least one expected file was created or modified
[ ] The changed files match the stated scope
[ ] No "PASSED" phase has zero net changes to target files

Verification

• Pre-flight plan check passed before any tool calls began
• The exact proving command was identified before reporting success
• The command was run after the latest relevant change
• Exit code and output were read, not assumed
• The reported claim matches the evidence exactly
• DoD check: "did we build the right thing?" AND "is it ready?"
• No phase reported success with zero output changes

Tips

• Pair this with tdd-workflow so every fix has a reproducible test
• Pair this with commit-workflow before committing or opening a PR
• If the command output is ambiguous, tighten the claim instead of overstating success

See Also

• tdd-workflow — test-first development loop
• systematic-debugging — hypothesis-driven debugging
• commit-workflow — final cleanup and pre-commit checks